


in the midst of a busy city

by emptypens



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Fluff, Jeno is lost, M/M, Noren, One Shot, Pre-Idol, Renjun saves him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 17:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17349434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emptypens/pseuds/emptypens
Summary: Anything can happen anytime and anywhere. That is what fills Jeno's stomach with both excitement and anxiety. Well, mostly anxiety. (--A.K.A. our No Jam Jeno is stuck in a foreign city and his hero in the form of a Chinese cutie with a bag of Moomin merchandise came to the rescue.)





	in the midst of a busy city

**Author's Note:**

> this is dedicated to my tol, who was the only noren shipper i knew at the time.  
> 

"Where are we?" Jeno asked his father, who was hopelessly looking around the city of Hong Kong with a mixed look of happiness and hesitation upon seeing the tall buildings towering over them and saving them from the harsh sunlight.  
  
"Are we lost?" Jeno added.  
  
"Something like that," answered his father while chuckling and checking a digital map displayed on the screen of his phone. "Don't worry, though. We'll find a way to the hotel."  
  
Says the man who brings them almost everywhere the island except the place where they were supposed to be brought to.  
  
As she stopped walking, Jeno's sibling went to their mother and started whining. "Mum, I'm hungry. Can't we get something to eat and rest first?"  
  
With that, the family except one came around, suggesting and deciding where to take a break. For Jeno, he just stood around, leaning against the cold railing and staring at the sight that was revealed before him; a seaside with boats and ships of different sizes and purposes as well as buildings and such. The salty scent of the water filled his nostrils pleasantly like perfume for Poseidon's children and the cool breeze tingled his skin like feathers from a beautiful bird.  
  
He was amazed about the thought of travelling around the world, from South Korea to outside of the country like the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and et cetera. It meant seeing new sights and having a peak of the culture of the people, such things that never fail to render him speechless.  
  
Then again, the scary thing about the activity is the lack of knowledge about what can happen, where you can land, and when it can happen.  
  
Anything can happen anytime and anywhere. That is what fills Jeno's stomach with both excitement and anxiety. Well, mostly anxiety.  
  
If he was to get lost in a big mall in South Korea, he wouldn't have a problem with it. If he was to get lost in a big mall in a big and crowded place like Hong Kong, that was a completely different story.  
  
Unfortunately, that story had begun that night.  
  
Jeno stood in the middle of the mall area, shifting his weight back and forth on his heels while watching people and time pass by him altogether. Awkwardness and growing nervousness radiated off his aura.  
  
He promised to meet his parents three hours later after they separate to go around the mall for a while. He was still confident when he did that. One hour later, the page with the word confidence was ripped right off his dictionary.  
  
Clutching his cellphone that was living off a power bank with low battery, Jeno heaved a shaky sigh, deciding that staying there was a bad idea.  
  
Apparently, what he did was even worse.  
  
Not surprising, being someone with a horrible sense of direction.  
  
Frustrated out of his mind, Jeno turned around for the nth time that day and was about to go roam around again, when he felt a force block him.  
  
Before his eyes flashed a sequences of scenes of a figure dropping backward and landing on the floor.  
  
Upon realizing what he had done, Jeno's eyes widened and panic rose inside of him.  
  
"I'm so so—" Jeno stopped himself, remembering that he wasn't in Korea. "Ah, S-Sorry—"  
  
The figure—er, which was a person, had cut him off with a fit of laughter, causing Jeno's head to spin with mixed feelings of nervousness, confusion, and most specifically flustered emotions because crap, his laugh was cute.  
  
Once he saw the boy trying to stand back up, Jeno immediately snapped out of his shocked trance and approached the boy to give him a hand.  
  
Picking up the bag that the boy was carrying, Jeno looked at the boy and said in English while stuttering: "Really sorry. I no see you."  
  
The boy laughed again, then muttered some incoherent Chinese, then looked up at Jeno while saying: "It's okay."  
  
Jeno's eyes went wide at the sound of the Chinese boy speaking Korean. He wanted to ask how, but hesitation got over him, therefore shutting him up about it instead. He was about to hand over the paper bag when he got a peek of what was inside: various stuffed toys of a familiar cartoon character.  
  
"Moomin?" Jeno uttered, which caused the Chinese boy to quickly take the bag with a flustered expression plastered over his face.  
  
Jeno stared at the Chinese boy. He looked like someone around the same age as him, yet he's carrying an amount of stuffed toys that children usually whine about wanting.  
  
How cute is that?  
  
"Anyway," the boy said, breaking the silence between them. "I noticed you've been standing around here for a long while now. Are you having troubles with going around the place or something?"  
  
Jeno suddenly felt embarrassed. He noticed that?  
  
Wait a second.  
  
_He noticed that?_

"Were you watching me or something?" Jeno joked, smirking slightly.  
  
"No," the boy immediately responded, half irritated half flushed. "Gee, and here I was, about to offer some help to you. I guess you don't need it, with that attitude."  
  
"Hey! I was joking! Yeah, my family told me to separate and go around the mall for a while. Now, I'm sort of lost."  
  
The Chinese boy laughed and shook his head.  
  
"Looks like someone has a rotten sense of direction."  
  
"I want to argue against that but I can't, because it's true."  
  
The boy laughed again, this time with Jeno.  
  
"Well, fear no more," the boy hummed. "I'm here to help you out. I have nothing better to do, anyway."  
  
"My hero," Jeno fake swooned, then smiled. "Thanks-- Uh..."  
  
"Renjun," the boy--Renjun--said. "or Injun, my Korean name."  
  
"Thanks, Renjun," Jeno repeated. "I'm Jeno."  
  
"Not a problem, Jeno. Now, where to go?"  
  
"Ah, about that..."  
  
With that, Jeno told Renjun his whole alone-around-the-mall-for-hours situation, which the latter understood without breaking a sweat. What took Jeno aback was how Renjun suddenly proposed to go around the mall together, since both of them have nothing better to do. What surprised him even more was that he agreed.  
  
Don't talk to strangers, they say.  
  
Then again, how will you find your friends if you don't do that? Much less, the love of your life?  
  
It wouldn't hurt to try.  
  
Since then, the two had been aimlessly walking around the area, talking about whatever they could talk about. For the first hour, they talked about a lot of things involving the city of China and/or the whole of China, leading them to the topic of how Renjun knew how to speak Korean (which was ironically explained with stuttered syllables and broken sentences.) Jeno tried to bring Renjun's possible obsession over Moomin in as a subject, but Renjun threatened to headlock him, so he let it slide for the love of keeping his head attached to his body.  
  
When he thought about it while watching him talk about something else, Jeno felt super comfortable with Renjun. It was as if they met a year ago, when in fact, they just bumped into each other an hour ago.  
  
It was unrealistic, but somehow, it happened.  
  
Maybe it was because their ages were actually the same; both born on 2000, therefore considering them as "chingus."  
  
Then again, there was something about Renjun that made Jeno's heart swell every time he did something; laughing, smiling, talking, even threatening him as a joke.  
  
Perhaps Jeno was developing a tiny crush on Renjun, but the thought sort of scared him, knowing the fact that they might not meet each other again after this, so he decided to deem it as his imagination; a happy crush lasting for an hour or so, maybe.  
  
Well, hopefully.  
  
"Anyway," Renjun started as the two sat down on a two-seated corner in the coffee shop with their iced coffees in hand. "What brings you to China?"  
  
It took Jeno a while to respond, because he had to wince at the bitter taste of the drink he ordered. Renjun laughed at it, and laughed even harder when Jeno tried to defend himself by saying that he panicked while ordering, which actually just proved him to be more of an idiot than he already was.  
  
"I have a workshop to attend around here," Jeno finally answered.  
  
Seemingly intrigued, Renjun asked another question. "A workshop for...?"  
  
"Performing arts. It's under a popular company in SoKor."  
  
"SM Entertainment?"  
  
Jeno raised an eyebrow at Renjun. "You know?"  
  
Renjun smiled at Jeno. "Yeah. I'm going."  
  
"Seriously?! Awesome!" Jeno exclaimed with utter excitement, before realizing that he had momentarily broken his non-existent cool facade. He cleared his throat and said: "I mean, cool."  
  
After a stretched silence, Jeno scrunched his eyebrows together.  
  
"Wait, so that means we'll see each other again?"  
  
Taking a sip of his drink, Renjun smiled. "I'm not sure whether it would be good news or bad news to you, but yeah, basically."  
  
Upon hearing what Renjun said, Jeno wanted to laugh. He didn't know the answer to that, either, really, but whatever it was, he decided to not mind it.  
  
Later on, Jeno's phone started ringing; a sign that time was up and Jeno had to rejoin his family.  
  
Once Renjun successfully helped Jeno find them, the two faced each other with smiles that showed mixed emotions; happiness, gratitude, mischief, the like.  
  
Supposedly, it was a heartbreaking moment between the two boys with newfound friendship, but it wasn't. They were meant to meet again anyway, so both boys decided to stay positive and wait for the day to come again.  
  
They could meet again and again in the future, too. Who knows?  
  
"See you soon, Moomin Boy," Jeno joked, waving at Renjun.  
  
"Don't make me regret joining it," Renjun joked back. "See you soon."  
  
With that, the two separated.  
  
Only physically, though, because their meeting was a moment of fate finally meeting.

**Author's Note:**

> hello! sky here. 
> 
> thank you for taking the time to read this! 
> 
> check out my other stories on [archive of our own](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astaeria) and [wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/user/emptypens).
> 
> follow me on my [twitter account](https://twitter.com/snowdinsunsets) and my [other social medias](https://skysite.carrd.co/).
> 
> have a decent day!


End file.
